BarcelonaThis Barça does not fail at the moment of truth. The Barça team has forgotten all three defeats in the last four games and opened the Euroleague quarter-final tie with a victory against Bayern Munich (77-67). Brandon Davies (19 points and 8 fouls received) and Dante Exum (12 points) were the top local players on a night when the key was defensive consistency. “This Bayern never give up and we needed our best version to get the victory,” said Sarunas Jasikevicius.
With the only absences of Cory Higgins (injury) and Pierre Oriola (technical decision) and the memory of the difficulties of last year’s qualifier against Zenit St. Petersburg, Barça opened the fight for a place in the final four from Belgrade doing a good job. “We’re happy with the win, but it’s still too early to celebrate anything,” Davies said.
Andrea Trinchieri’s Bayern Munich is a well-worked team that knows how to complicate the opponent’s game thanks to different defensive strategies. The German team disturbed the vital signs of a Barça player who needed to open his eyes wide to detect possible cracks. The visiting team took advantage of its effectiveness in the shot to build a difference of nine points (13-22). The Catalan reaction came from the defense and resulted in a 12-0 (25-22) partial. Brandon Davies and Nico Laprovittola scored 23 of the 43 points that Barça added during a first half that closed with a local advantage of 10 points (43-33).
Barça understood what kind of match they needed to score the first point of the play-offs. The Barça team started the third quarter with a difference of 12 points (45-33), but Bayern showed their resilience to regain the ground lost at the Palau Blaugrana (45-43). The good offensive readings of Rokas Jokubaitis and the energy of Dante Exum served to drive the aspirations of a Catalan team that was very reliable with unusual players on the floor. The 16 lost balls and the injury of Darrun Hilliard, who suffered a fracture, became a slab for the visitors.
Thursday, second game
The second match of the qualifier will be played, again at the Palau Blaugrana, this Thursday (8 pm, DAZN). Afterwards, the two teams will move to Munich, where the third match will be played on Wednesday next week. If necessary, the fourth match is scheduled for Friday.
